In order to express his gratitude to Tang He and others for their support, Han Du held a banquet in his house.
After toasting and drinking together, Tang He said with a smile: "If you have a chance to make a fortune, don't tell me in advance. Han Du, you are a bit out of touch now."
Han Du knew that Tang He was joking with him, so he smiled slightly, "To be honest, sir, we didn't expect anyone to buy it. I was just thinking of asking you for help, but I didn't expect that you would come to support me."
Han Du's words made everyone fall into laughter.
They took the initiative to help Han Du out of friendship, and they were very happy to hear such humorous flattery from Han Du.
After laughing, Lan Yu took a sip of wine and said, "I don't understand. You said we want boats and money. Even if you ask us to pay taxes, we will pay them. Why do you have to?" Why did you give such a profitable business to those businessmen instead of us?"
"Brother is short of money?" Han Du was a little surprised.
Lan Yu shook her head, "There is no shortage, but Yue'er is about to get married, so it is always good to prepare some dowry for her."
Han Du smiled and nodded. This was a good reason. "A single branch is not spring, but a hundred flowers are blooming and the garden is full of spring. There are endless profits to be made from sea trade. Even if our family works hard for a lifetime, we will not even make a dime." Besides, you can only make a lot of money by doing sea trade."
"They are all family members, so don't hide them." Tang He interjected.
"My father-in-law said yes, let's just say it straight away." Han Du nodded, "Everyone knows that monopoly is the most profitable business, but there is another way to make money faster than monopoly in this world, and that is business without capital. robbery."
After hearing this, Tang He felt that Han Du was crazy. He naturally knew that the fastest way to make money was through buying and selling without capital, but he trusted the Duke of the country, so he actually wanted to rob?
"Who are you robbing?"
Although Tang He felt that it would be a bargain for the dignified prince to rob, he still chose to follow his heart in the face of wealth.
Seeing how eager he was, Han Du couldn't help but look at him strangely.
"Don't look at me, my family has a big business. Tang Ding has two brothers. What if we don't buy more property? As you said, I will make their family richer. Even if they are If you lose your family, you can lose a few more years."
"My father-in-law is always strong, thoughtful, and enviable." Han Du raised his thumb and gestured to Tang He.
Tang He slapped Han Du's hand away and said, "Don't give me such a bad mouth."
Han Du asked someone to bring the map and spread it out. Pointing to the area of Nanyang, "From the Ming Dynasty to here, the pirates have almost been eliminated, but further west, the pirates are still rampant and often rob passing merchant ships. In our estimation, the Ming Dynasty does not have the energy to take care of this area for the time being. In this case, if others can rob it, why can't we rob it? Not only can we rob merchant ships, but we can also rob local indigenous people. Although these indigenous people are poor, they have a lot of good things. "
When everyone heard this, they burst into laughter.
If it had been the case in the past, they might have thought that the overseas natives were very poor and had little money. But now they have known through Han Du that the overseas natives are poor, but the place where they are is not poor at all.
Take the agarwood that Han Du brought back as an example. Each stick is priceless.
It is said that after Lao Zhu saw the nine agarwood sticks, he was immediately overjoyed and had people move the agarwood to the Ancestral Temple and put it up overnight. To worship the ancestors, even Lao Zhu himself was reluctant to use it.
"Moreover, the sea trade from the Ming Dynasty to Nanyang is so prosperous now. Some people are not even willing to pay 10% of the tax if it is not guaranteed. For these people who go to sea privately, we might as well teach them how to behave."
Hearing that Han Du dared to attack merchants from the Ming Dynasty, Tang He couldn't help but be shocked, and said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid this is not good, right?"
"There's nothing wrong with it," Lan Yu suddenly interjected, waved her hand and said, "If these people are not punished, then everyone will learn from their mistakes in the future, and who will pay taxes to the Shipping Department? Let's see Han Du This is a good idea, it is to eliminate them all so that others will pay taxes obediently."
Han Du nodded in agreement, "We have the same idea. The reason why we issued flags to ships that paid taxes was just for this moment. When the time comes, we will turn a blind eye to the ships with flags and plunder those that have not paid taxes."
Cao Zhen nodded silently and said, "Although we can get the ship, what about the people? This robbery is different from doing business, and it cannot be done by just anyone."
Since it is robbery, conflicts are bound to occur, and ordinary people are of little use in bloody conflicts.
Everyone was speechless after hearing this. If they can't find the right person, then their happiness has been in vain.
"We have an idea." Han Du smiled.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Han Du continued: "Aren't there many disabled and old soldiers in the navy? Some of these people are still in the navy, and some have been sent back to their hometowns. Especially It’s those people who were sent back to their hometowns who have a difficult life. Instead of letting them live in such pain, it’s better to gather them and serve us.”
"Although these people are old, disabled, and no longer capable of fighting, they still have no problem robbing merchant ships and indigenous people."
After Tang He thought about it, he said: "This is a way. To be honest, I have been commanding the navy for so many years, and I feel that these people are the ones I owe the most. I always feel sorry for them. Now that you have this method, you can make up for it. It's a pity. However, although they are now citizens, they were once soldiers after all. This matter will probably require the emperor's permission."
"But it's okay. I went to ask the emperor about this matter. In order to make their lives better, I risked my life."
Seeing Tang He's solemn expression, Han Du smiled and said, "It's not that serious. We can't handle this matter alone. We have to involve the emperor. But this matter always has a bad reputation. Therefore, it must be hidden from outsiders.”
After all, Lao Zhu was also the emperor of the Celestial Kingdom. If anyone knew that he was involved in robbery, he would probably lose Ming Dynasty's face.
Not only Lao Zhu, but also Han Du and others are not suitable for public appearances. Everyone here, including Lao Zhu, can only stand behind the scenes and control this matter, and everyone will share the dividends together.
After the discussion, Tang He went to see the emperor impatiently. Moreover, he insisted on going alone. Even Han Du said that he would go with him, but Tang He refused.
In Tang He's words, at his age, there is no guarantee that he will be buried in the ground that day. Instead of wasting it in vain, it is better to stand up and seek some blessings for his descendants.
